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Have you ever screamed, “Who peed on the carpet?!” knowing full well it wasn’t your teenager or mother-in-law who just happened to be out for a visit. It’s safe to say that any human in your house is not a suspect. You didn’t really have to ask the question and certainly didn’t have to scream it out loud. It was the dog. Your adorable, sweet and loving pup is the one peeing in the house. If you live with a dog, you can expect pee to happen. But don’t worry. I’m here to help you understand the whys and what to do about a dog peeing in the house.

Understand the reasons behind a dog peeing in the house

There are four main reasons for a dog peeing in the house, or in other places he shouldn’t:

1. Your pup isn’t housetrained yet.

I’m often asked how I housetrained my darling 12-year-old pup, Riggins. I can tell you that it included a celebratory chant and march.

When Riggins successfully “did his business” in the sod box on the balcony of our third-story apartment, I would march around the dining room table clapping and chanting a few rounds of, “Treat for the good boy!” My proud pup would march right behind me, head held high, as we made our way to his edible reward.

The positive reinforcement was obviously very important. I’m not sure the rest of the ritual was necessary, but it made it more fun.

With a dog peeing in the house while you’re gone, he may be suffering from separation anxiety.

Tips: Turn to a professional trainer or behaviorist for the most effective way to solve this problem.

Also, take your dog to doggie daycare to keep him distracted and mentally engaged in healthy activity. As an extra bonus, your sweet baby will probably be pooped when you pick him up.

3. Your dog is marking.

More likely than not, you’ll have to deal with a dog peeing in the house due to dog marking at some point in your dog-owning life. As a dogsitter, I can’t tell you how many times a dog and his owner would come in for a meet and greet, and the pup would make a beeline to a piece of furniture and pee on it. “He never does that!” the pup’s parents will exclaim.

It turns out they aren’t liars. It very well may be the first (or one of the few times) their pup has marked inside. Imagine if you were that pup. You walk into a strange place, with all new things, everything smells like dog — EVERYTHING. What’s a pup to do? Claim a piece of the pie, that’s what!

4. Your dog is sick or a senior.

If you suddenly notice your dog peeing in the house, check in with your vet. There are several health-related issues that could be causing the new behavior.

Like us humans, senior dogs can have an issue holding their bladder. I have a senior Chihuahua friend who likes to spend time lying on my chair behind me while I work. Every time I pick him up to set him on my office furniture he pees a little. I deal with it because I love him!

Dog peeing in the house? How to clean it up

Get to the pee when it’s wet.

The faster you clean up after a dog peeing in the house, the less likely you’ll get stuck with lingering smells.

Place paper towels, newspaper or an absorbent chamois on top of and under (if possible) the messed area. Blot, don’t rub, until all the moisture is removed.

Blot that same area with clean water.

Waited too late and now it’s dry?

Don’t use a steam cleaner. You’ll want to, thinking it will make things better. It won’t. The heat will reactivate the smell and make things worse. Try a wet-vac on these spots instead.

Use pet odor neutralizer, or try the natural solution of covering the area in baking soda overnight and blotting with a vinegar/water solution in the morning.

Try hydrogen peroxide to help with stubborn areas, but spot test an area of your flooring or furniture first to make sure the bleaching properties in the liquid won’t be a problem.

When all else fails, call out the professionals. Carpet cleaners will often charge more for areas that are pee stained, but it’s worth it!

If you, like Riggins and I did for the first year of his life, live in an apartment or small place, consider a sod box or pee pad as an option. Personally, I got sick of changing out sod and the amount of effort it took to clean the sod box, so I switched over to kitty litter. That’s right, my big 70-plus-pound German Shorthaired Pointer mix is kitty litter trained. It cut back on smell and overall maintenance time. Now, 11 years later, you can get actual doggie litter. Brilliant!

Try a synthetic pheromone diffuser, spray or wipe. This synthetic pheromone mimics a dog’s natural comforting pheromones and can help with anxiety.

Train with positive reinforcement for your dog to use a specific area of the yard as his personal bathroom, and reinforce his actions with a command like, “Go potty.”

In your house, an area where a dog doesn’t visit is often seen as a “safe” spot to do his business. If you find your dog peeing in the house in the same general area and notice it isn’t a place of high traffic, make it one. Spend some time every day in that part of the house with your dog until he realizes it isn’t his bathroom.

Keep dogs in rooms with easy-to-clean flooring and only allow on furniture and beds where covers can be removed and cleaned.

Cleaning pee on your dog

Stop laughing. It happens. I’ve seen my tall dog pee on his little friend’s head — accidentally, of course. More than once, an epic pee has made a puddle so big it hits my pup’s feet. Then there’s just plain sloppiness when different body parts get in the way.

For dried pee stains, always start by brushing with the tool that works best for your dog’s coat.

About the author

Wendy Newell is a former VP of Sales turned dogsitter, which keeps her busy being a dog chauffeur, picking up poop and sacrificing her bed. Wendy and her dog, Riggins, take their always-changing pack of pups on adventures throughout the Los Angeles area. Learn more about them on Facebook at The Active Pack and on Instagram at @wnewell.

17 comments on “How to Deal With Your Dog Peeing in the House”

These are great tips! Our pup has been known to mark places in the house before. We’ve learned that if we don’t get to the spot quickly and clean it effectively, he’ll keep using the same spot. We don’t have as many “accidents” any more, but any time we do, we call the carpet cleaners immediately to take care of the the spot before he gets the chance to do it again. It truly is a vicious cycle!

I have shiztzu cross i got from a shelter he is 6 yrs old has a doggy door he uses during the day but during the night he pees on the tles in the dining room i have not caught him in the act as i am asleep he has only been desexed in the last few weeks i spray with z product that takes smell away and then spray with a deterent wbich has a smell he hates ,have only done this twice would like to stop this, any advice.

I took my puppy from a dog foster home about a year ago. I love him to bits; he has a great personality, and I feel that he loves our family so much. BUT he poops and pees in the house A LOT. . So, leaving home is always a challenge for us. My husband and I were thinking about taking him to ‘doggy school’, but then again, it’s extremely expensive, and the nearest ‘doggy school’ is far away from us. Maybe you have some advice? THANK YOU!!!!

Hi there, I have a senior American Bulldog and a 6 month old French Bulldog Pug, Aka (Frug) and My older dog ive had since she was a tiny puppy and my Husband and I found it necessary to crate train.And it worked like magic. as soon as it was time for us to go somewhere then we would put her in a small dog crate with a shirt or a peice of cloth that we each touched and had our smell on it.And put it in there with our dog.And everything was fine.She was pleased! And when we returned home, The very first thing I would do was go get my puppy and carry her directly outside and put her on a leash and walk her around until she did her business then bring her back in a give her a treat for being such a good girl…And the same happened when we went to bed. And the exact same everyday there on.And once I noticed she was getting the hang of it and was darting to the door to go potty as soon as i opened her kennel then I stopped putting her in it when we left the house.But instead I left the kennel door open letting her realize that its her option if she wants to go in.And so when We would return home she would be sleeping in the kennel. And as for our Frug we trained him the exact same way,, Altho we are noticing it may be alittle more necessary to ask for help off the web to house train/krate train him bc we’ve been noticing sprinkles of pee here & there next to items in the house and/or the furniture which indeed tells us that he is raising his leg and making items of our house.And yet We still do use the krate to train him, Every dog is different and We are gonna need some help with this little guy..Thanks for taking time to read my way I trained my dog/s to potty outside…

I have two Swedish Vallhunds. 1 Male and 1 Female. Our male wants nothing to do with peeing in the house. Our Female will pee in the house when it’s raining outside ..
She only pees in the house during the night time. She is trained to potty pads; show dog first 4 years of life and never had an inside accident…she’s fabulous in hotels.

Okay, so what sort of advice can you give me .. always willing to try new things.

We have a little Chinese Crested that is about 3 yr old. She will go and pee on my son’s bed right after we have changed his bed. She will do that occasionally after I have changed my bed also. Because it’s not every day I tend to forget about it until I hear my son’s scream of rage! We do have puppy pads due to her hairlessness and she has always used them and gone outside with the other dogs. It baffles me. She’s such a wonderful little girl in all other ways. Any suggestions?

That happened with a kitten I had once. The vet said that it happened because the bedding smelled like urine to the cat after the first time even though we couldn’t smell it. He recommended spraying the bedding thoroughly with white vinegar, letting it sit for a while soaking, and then washing it with more vinegar added to the cycle (no soap). After that cycle, wash the bedding again regularly. It worked like a charm and the cat never peed on the bed again. However, if the urine soaked into the mattress, you may have to replace it to get rid of the urine smell that triggers the peeing.